The Overcrowded Manger
by Solo Ensemble
Summary: Complete. The peanut gallery keeps butting in as Elizabeth tries to give Jason some very important news. Fluff.


**The Overcrowded Manger**

Elizabeth's eyes lit up when she spotted her husband come in through the front door, and she quickly – but not too quickly, after all – trotted down the steps. "Jason! You're back!"

He closed his eyes when she threw her arms around him and turned his face into her hair. This was the best part of coming home after a business trip. "Yeah, I am."

"How was it?" she wanted to know. "Everything go okay?"

Ah, the polite way to ask if he'd been shot at or not. "Everything was fine," Jason assured her, stripping off his leather jacket. His wife took it from him and absently tossed it onto the back of his desk chair. "We got the contract, so that means a little more work in the next few months, and a couple long nights at the warehouse for me, Spinelli, and Sonny, but it should start to pay off by the end of the year."

"Good, great," Elizabeth replied, her hurried tone making it very clear that she didn't care one bit. "Listen, I wanted to tell you something."

That was never good. "Is something wrong? What happened?"

"Nothing, nothing," she assured him this time. "No, Jason, nothing, don't look at me like that. I just wanted to tell you that-"

"Jason?" A hesitant knock at the door, and then Sonny poked his head in. "Hey, I thought I heard you come in."

Elizabeth's lips settled into a peevish line when her husband pulled away so that the two men could exchange a quick hug, complete with just enough masculine back-clapping. It wasn't that she wanted to keep Jason all to herself (God only knew he'd drive her insane if that ever happened) but sometimes Sonny chose the most inopportune moments to poke his head in.

"We got the business."

"I know, I got your message," his friend beamed. "So – what happened?"

"I thought it was just going to be us and the Moreno family," Jason started, "but when I got to the house, I saw that Zacchara also invited Sorel and the Roscoe family."

"Spinelli didn't pull up anything about that."

"It's not Spinelli's fault," Jason defended his young friend and former roommate. "Anthony didn't want us to find out. But neither Sorel nor Roscoe knew that me and Moreno would be there, so he was playing all ends."

Sonny nodded. It really didn't matter all that much since they had come out on top anyway. "Couldn't have been a pleasant dinner, though."

Jason shook his head ruefully, remembering back to last year when Sonny had put a hit out on Roscoe and managed to kill his wife Faith after she kidnapped his children. "I didn't get much sleep while we were there. Anthony made it clear that his house was a neutral zone and that no one could pull anything, but…"

"Yeah, Roscoe's the guy that poisoned his son's nanny's coffee when he thought she was turning the kid against him," Sonny mused as Elizabeth tapped her foot in the background. "Can't be too careful around that psycho."

"I thought he was going to slit my throat when Anthony said that he was forming an alliance with us," Jason admitted. "Max, Ritchie and I got the hell out of there as fast as we could."

Sonny nodded and would have continued when he caught the look in Elizabeth's eyes. She looked almost as fierce as Carly when she used _the look_. "Uh…you know what, why don't you tell me more about that tonight at dinner? You two are still coming over, right?"

Elizabeth nodded and gave him a bright smile. "We are. Thanks for stopping bye, Sonny."

He didn't need to be told twice. The mobster tipped his head at his sister-in-law and reached for the doorknob. "Okay, see you then."

Elizabeth let out a quiet sigh of relief when the door closed and her husband turned around to look at her.

"Jason-"

"We got anything to eat?" He looked almost chagrined when he realized that he'd interrupted her. "Sorry. I just – I haven't eaten since yesterday."

Elizabeth gave him a sheepish smile and took his hand. "Yeah, sure, come on, lunch is just about ready. Tell you what, why don't you sit on the couch and I'll fix you a plate, and then we can talk."

Jason flopped down on the sofa and kicked off his shoes as his wife disappeared. "So what have you been doing this past week?"

"Funny you ask," he heard her murmur over the clink of plates and silverware. "Actually, I went for a check-up the other day at the hospital and-"

"Jason!"

In the kitchen, Elizabeth dropped the silverware with a loud clink.

Jason let out a grunt when Carly practically tackled him on the couch. His best friend kissed his cheek and then sprang back, a beaming grin lighting up her features. "I'm so glad you're back! You missed so much! Guess what? Morgan rolled over for the first time while you were gone!"

"That's great," he replied honestly. "How's she been doing?"

"Good," Carly replied happily. "It happened the day before yesterday. She was on her back in her little Pack'N'Play and then we saw her kind of loll to the side, and then she did it! She rolled over! …And then she started screaming because she hates being on her stomach."

He had to smile at that. "Tell the kids I'll be by to see them later."

Carly took his hand as Elizabeth emerged from the kitchen holding a plate of reheated lasagna. "Why don't you come over now? Morgan's awake and Michael just got home from school, and they'd love to see you. Come on."

Elizabeth stepped in front of Carly when the tall blonde stood and effectively blocked her path to the door. "Thanks, Carly, but Jason's really hungry. He should eat."

"He can eat at our place," she offered, still holding her best friend's hand as Jason stood behind her. "Sonny made beef and vegetable stew for lunch and we've got plenty left over. You come, too."

Elizabeth cleared her throat and took a step closer. "I just fixed him a plate, Carly. He'll eat here."

The tall blonde's brows furrowed. "But-"

"Carly."

Her eyes widened in recognition, and Jason stared at her when she dropped his hand with almost comic alacrity. "Oh! Right! Actually, you know, I think Michael has some homework to do, and…I think Max finished off the stew. You two are still coming over for dinner, right?"

She headed for the door – alone – as soon as Elizabeth nodded. "Great – see you then and we'll…celebrate."

Giving Elizabeth a knowing look, she quickly hopped out into the hallway and shut the door. "Bye!"

"Celebrate what?"

"Your being home, of course," Elizabeth replied sweetly, giving him a gentle push back down onto the couch before she handed him the plate and settled down next to him. "She's missed you while you were gone. And she took it out on _me_."

Jason winced as he cut into his lunch. "Ouch."

"I know," his wife grimaced. "She'd come over after breakfast every day to _talk. _Then I promised Marco a raise if he told her that I was going out running and that I'd probably ask her to come with."

"Carly hates to run," Jason agreed through a mouthful of ground beef and noodles. "Can I get a drink?"

"Oh, sure," she replied, hopping up off the couch. "Sorry, I forgot. I'll get you a napkin, too."

Jason shrugged as his wife trotted back into the kitchen. The napkin wasn't entirely necessary; he was planning on using his pants, anyway, like he always did. But he figured that response wouldn't go over so well – with women, it rarely did – so he kept his mouth shut.

"Thanks," he called out, glancing over when he heard a knock at the door. "Come on in."

His neighbor poked his head in and grinned. "Hey, Stone Cold. How was Sienna?"

"Warm," Jason replied, glancing out at the snow lining the balcony ledge. "You take care of things here?"

He nodded, smiling when Elizabeth entered the room. "Oh, Fair One, hello. You must be very happy to have our Stone Cold back home."

She gave him a thin smile, a far cry from her usual warm greeting. "What brings you by, Spinelli?"

"Actually, I was hoping to get Stone Cold's advice on something," the boy admitted. "This week has been most arduous for the Jackal, Stone Cold, and any words of wisdom you have to impart would be most appreciated."

Jason looked up at him humorlessly. "What did you do this time?"

"I didn't do anything!" the boy protested. "The circumstances were all beyond the Jackal's control! I can't help it that I'm suddenly such a stud!"

The enforcer choked on his lasagna. "What!"

"See, that's what I wanted to talk to you about," Spinelli sighed, sinking down onto the hutch of the sofa as Elizabeth crossed her arms, less than thrilled with the interruption. "The Jackal has a problem of the girly nature."

Jason arched a brow. "Yeah?"

"It turns out that the Wise Counselor and Nurse Nadine have forgone their natural inclinations toward sweetness and light due to the fact that each one secretly harbors amorous intentions for the Jackal – secret amorous intentions that are not so secret anymore after a public girl-brawl at Jake's."

Jason squinted at his former roommate. "…What?"

Elizabeth rolled her eyes. "Georgie and Nadine both have feelings for Spinelli and they want him to choose between them and he doesn't know what to do."

Her husband had to blink several times before he could even formulate words. "…Wow."

"And now the Jackal must choose between the Wise and Trusted Friend and Sensible Nurse Nadine, and this is a most impossible quandary, Stone Cold!"

"Uh…"

"So any advice you can give me would be most appreciated."

"Uh…"

"Because I like them both and I don't to lose either of them as friends."

"Uh…"

"And don't tell me that I should just tell them both that I want to be friends because…I really want a girl, Stone Cold."

"Uh…"

Elizabeth rolled her eyes and gently grasped Spinelli's shoulders, steering him toward the door. "Tell you what, Spinelli, sometimes the best thing to do is sleep on it. Why don't you go back to your penthouse and sleep on it, huh? Maybe things will be clearer when you wake up."

"Well, I don't know, but if you think-"

"I do," she replied firmly as she reached for the door. "Now why don't you – Oh."

"Spinelli, I thought you'd be here," Georgie smiled, clasping her hands demurely in front of her. "You've been avoiding me all week, and it stops now."

Elizabeth groaned. "Can't you guys do this across the hall?"

"There you are!" They all looked over to find an irate Nadine storming off the elevator. "Oh! You thought you'd get to him first, did you? Back off, Jones."

"Watch it," Georgie warned, "or I'll give you another black eye. Don't think I won't."

"Girls, girls," Spinelli interrupted, "there has to be a better way for us all to deal with this. The Equal Parts Fair and Wise Elizabeth thinks that we should go home and sleep on it, and I'll see you ladies tomorrow and then we can-"

Nadine and Georgie snorted at the same time. "You won't see us tomorrow – you'll leave the country if you think it'd help you avoid us."

"You make up your mind now, Spinelli," Georgie growled. "Me or her. Pick."

"And think carefully," Nadine warned as Jason watched from behind with unabashed interest as the two pretty, intelligent, seemingly sane young women fought over his socially inept little friend.

"I-"

_"Spinelli." _

"I…" He turned and looked over his shoulder at his beloved mentor. "_Help me_."

Elizabeth pressed her fingers to her temple and bit back a shriek. "All right, how about this? Everyone gets out. Just get out!"

Nadine and Georgie let out little squeaks as Carly abruptly pushed through them and glared at the three teenagers. "Just what do you kids think you're doing?"

Spinelli cast his eyes heavenward and said a little prayer of thanks as the Valkyrie rescued him from a most sticky situation.

"Jason just got home," she scolded, taking Georgie and Nadine by the elbows, "don't you think he should have some time alone with his wife? Come on, across the hall, let's go, take your afterschool special teenage drama over there, let's go."

"Jason? Oh, good, you're back." Not even paying attention to Carly, Logan pushed past the two girls and Spinelli and marched over to where the enforcer was lounging on the couch. "Listen, I need to talk to you. I don't know what Sonny's told you-"

"He told me you fucked up the shipment twice in a row," Jason replied blandly.

"It wasn't my fault," the boy protested as Lulu hesitantly minced past Carly and gave a fuming Elizabeth a nervous smile. "It wasn't, I had no way of knowing-"

"You should have planned for every possible outcome," Jason bit off, stabbing at his lunch. "Sonny said that the shipment was ambushed by the cops. On the list of things most likely to go wrong, that's on the top. But you still couldn't think and act accordingly."

"But-"

"Just get out of here, Logan," he replied, turning his head and effectively dismissing him. "You're off shipment duty for good until Sonny decides to give you another chance."

The boy growled and turned on his heel, roughly stomping past Spinelli and Carly. Lulu looked after him and as soon as he had disappeared from view, moved closer to Jason. "So, when you were at the Zacchara villa, did you happen to see Johnny? He doing okay?"

"I don't believe this!" Just when they thought they'd gotten rid of the louse, Logan came stomping back in, getting dried mud on Elizabeth's cute area rug. "He's not even back for ten seconds and you're bugging him about Johnny!"

"He's not even back for ten seconds and you were here ready to brown-nose," Elizabeth murmured, crossing her arms over her chest and settling comfortably into her funk as Nadine laid a sympathetic hand on her shoulder.

"I was asking – that's what friends do!"

"From where I'm sitting, it doesn't look like you and Johnny are just friends."

"I am so sick of your jealousy – he's my friend and that's it, and you need to deal."

"And you two need to get out!" Elizabeth burst out, quickly marching forward and herding all of the intruders toward the door. "Just get out – I don't care about your problems right now, come bug me with them tomorrow if you feel your worlds will fall apart if you don't. Just get out!"

"Oh, Jason, you're back," Ritchie grinned, waving from the hall. "Thank God, man, and not too soon, either. That wife of yours was driving me up the…Oh. Hi, Elizabeth."

Carly winced when Elizabeth's dark eyes turned to steel. "Not a good time, Ritchie."

"I'll be at the warehouse if you need me," the guard blurted out before he turned to make a run for it. Unfortunately, as he did so, he nearly tripped over one Maxie Jones who had made a rare and always unsolicited trip to Harborview Towers.

"I thought I'd find you here," she scolded her sister, who now stood at Spinelli's side. "I told you, stop chasing after the stupid nerd, it only makes you look desperate. I don't get what's so special about him, anyway. Georgie, wise up and figure out that he's just a twiggy, socially inept little-"

"You can't call Spinelli that!"

"Yeah, you can't call me that!"

"Oh, cram it, you little twerp, I am so sick of you hiding behind my sister-"

"Yeah? Well, your sister's not the only one who's going to kick your bony behind if you don't lay off!"

"We _really_ need to move this across the hall-"

"Elizabeth? I'm real sorry about what I said – I meant you were driving me up the wall in a…good way?"

"You're in deep enough, Ritch."

"No one asked you, Cyclops."

"You can't call my boyfriend a Cyclops!"

"Oh, so I'm suddenly your boyfriend again? What about Johnny?"

"Well, Logan's eyes_ are_ abnormally close together…"

"What's going on in here? I can hear you all the way from – Hey, if I had to leave, why do they all get to stay?"

"ENOUGH!"

Sonny, Carly, Ritchie, Logan, Lulu, Maxie, Spinelli, Georgie, Nadine and Jason all stopped and stared at Elizabeth, who looked perilously close to violence. Another second and they'd probably see steam pouring from her ears.

"I want all of you out _now_," she ground out, advancing on the group in small, tightly controlled steps and a manner that was stunningly intimidating for a woman her size. Spinelli gulped and reached out, pushing Nadine and Georgie and everyone behind them back and closer to the exit.

"I want you out of my house _now_ and I don't want to see _anyone_ coming back in, is that clear?" Her eyes glittered dangerously and thankfully, no one proved stupid enough to make a peep. "I am so sick of hearing about all your problems and your gripes and the stupid little messes you get yourselves in. Normally I wouldn't care, but not today. Tell you what? Come back tomorrow and regale me with your issues. Lulu, you can go on and on for hours about how Logan's controlling and demanding and how you miss Johnny. Logan? You can come and brown-nose some more and whine about how no one gives you a chance ever."

They were almost out the door but Elizabeth wasn't done. "Georgie and Nadine, you're both sensible girls that shouldn't be acting this way but if you feel you must, tear each other's hair out somewhere else. Carly and Sonny, we're changing our locks. Maxie, I don't know how you think you can walk into my home after everything you've done but the next time you set foot in Harborview Towers, I'm going to make sure Ritchie comes after you with his cattle prod. And Ritchie, you drive me up the wall, too. Spinelli, you're the sweetest boy ever and God knows I love you to bits, but you've got to man up and handle your own girl issues. And now everyone can _LEAVE_!"

And with that, Elizabeth reached for the door and slammed it in their faces. Behind her, Jason scarcely dared to breathe for fear of directing her ire his way, and was surprised to see her eyes once again calm and bright when she turned around to face him.

"Um…" The hardest part was thinking of something that stood no chance of setting her off again. "You wanted to talk to me about something?"

"Oh, yeah." Her eyes brightened and a beaming little smile lit up her whole face as his gentle, calm wife returned to him once more. "I'm pregnant. And you're going to have your hands full trying to keep those idiots from stressing me out for the next seven months."


End file.
